Una Mujer Fantastica Review/ List of 10 Fantastic films about transsexuality
Sebastián Lelio
Cast: Danielle Vega, Luis Gnecco, Francisco Reyes, Aline Küppenheim
Length: 104 min
Country: Chile
Country: Chile
A Fantastic Woman is not a fantastic film. It's just ok.
Recently awarded with an Oscar for Best Film in a Foreign Language (against much more deserving masterpieces as the bizarre and acute satire of the art world in Ruben Östlund's The Square and the surreal gruesome love story in Ildikó Enyedi's On Body and Soul), A Fantastic Woman is an heartfelt story centered on resilience and love, which didn't satisfy me completely.
Marina Vidal, played by transgender activist Danielle Vega, is happily coupled with Orlando (Francisco Reyes), a divorced father in his 50s. We witness their tender, unconventional love story unravel, while they are dancing, having a romantic dinner and planning a wonderful trip to Iguazú Falls.
The tone of the movie suddenly shifts after a gripping and intense start. One night Orlando wakes up feeling in pain. On the way to the hospital, he falls down the stairs. Marina's world shutters when the doctor explains to her that her lover died of a brain aneurysm. From this moment on, she will be the victim of constant scrutiny by the police, who treats as a murder suspect, and by Orlando's family who sees her as an alien, a perversion or even a monstrosity.
She will lose Orlando's car, followed by the house she was living in, and even her dog Diabla. She won't even be allowed to attend Orlando's funeral. "Saying goodbye to a loved one is a basic human right isn't it?" says Marina to Gabo, Orlando's brother (Larrain's Pablo Neruda, Luis Gnecco). She is not allowed to grieve and her pain is not even acknowledged. Her presence is an inconvenience to those bigots who will verbally and physically abuse her for simply being.
Lelio's intentions in tackling transphobia are beyond noble and encouraging.
We are living in extremely divisive times, where bigotry and hatred are on the rise and respect and dignity are not taken for granted, especially if you are part of a minority. "A Fantastic Woman" is urgent in that sense. It condemns the intolerance of those who are incapable of understanding what is outside their little worlds. “I don’t know what I am seeing,” says Sonia, Orlando's ex-wife.
However, Lelio's approach lacks depth and originality. Everything is black and white in this Almodovarian melodrama. You would expect that a movie mostly made of close-ups of Danielle Vega's face would have been more introspective. Instead, it only remains on the surface.
Our heroine is unbreakable and resilient. Her character is going through unimaginable struggles, grief, fear, anger, resentment, but all those complex hidden emotions don't come across on screen. She seems bidimensional. The same happens with our antagonists: they resemble cartoonish villains from some old Disney movie. They are just the "bad guys", with no complexity whatsoever.
Our heroine is unbreakable and resilient. Her character is going through unimaginable struggles, grief, fear, anger, resentment, but all those complex hidden emotions don't come across on screen. She seems bidimensional. The same happens with our antagonists: they resemble cartoonish villains from some old Disney movie. They are just the "bad guys", with no complexity whatsoever.
Representation is fundamental, but it's only the first step.
Her character shouldn't be simply transgender. LGBT parts urgently need to be more than plot devices or political statements. They need to be well-rounded and well-written individuals with complex emotions and unique flaws, contradictions and doubts. That's why films like Moonlight (2016) and Call Me By Your Name (2017) had such a positive response.
Marina has a job as a waitress and she takes singing lessons, but other than that she has not many definitive qualities outside of her being transgender. Daniel Vega did a good job considering how limited her character was. There was much Oscar talk around Daniel Vega's performance. That would have been wonderful to see (especially considering how many cisgender actors have been acknowledged for playing trans roles), but I couldn't help to find her acting a bit stiff, without denying her natural magnetism on screen.
Don't get me wrong, A Fantastic Woman"is not a terrible film. Coming from a conservative country like Chile, it's a huge step in the right direction and its recognition should be cherished. The film benefits from a gorgeous cinematography of bright reds and limpid blues by BenjamÃn Echazarret and a gripping Hitcockian soundtrack from Matthew Herbert.
In severe contrast with Lelio's realistic approach, there were two surreal and poetic scenes that stand out to me.
An incredibly cinematic shot of Marina on a dance floor of a nightclub, in the midst of a glorious choreography, and a scene of Marina unmovable against the relentless flow of the wind. If only there were other scenes constructed with the same sheer imagination and artistry, it could have been truly a fantastic film.
Movies you might like if you like A Fantastic Woman:
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1973) by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Todo Sobre Mi Madre (1999) by Pedro Almodovar
Le Fate Ignoranti (2001) by Farzan Özpetek
Laurence Anyways (2012) by Xavier Dolan
Niche List of the week
10 Fantastic film on transsexuality
I hope I wasn't the only one to be disappointed with A Fantastic Woman. If you were (or if you weren't), here you can find a list of 10 fantastic alternatives for you.
All these films celebrate being themselves against an antagonistic society. What A Fantastic Woman has that most of this film don't, it's a real transexual actress as the central character. 7 out of 10 of these movies don't have real transexuals in the cast. I am not going to argue about that. The actor job is to play something he/she is not. However, it becomes almost an "easy" way for cisgender actors to receive accolades and recognition. If you play a trans and you will definitely get an Oscar nomination (Example as A Crying Game, Boy's Don't Cry, Transamerica, The Danish Girl and most recent winner Jered Leto in Dallas Buyers Club). It seems to be a limited industry for transactors. Pedro Almodovar was really progressive in his casting already in the 80's: In Law and Desire (1987), Carmen Maura plays a trans woman, whereas trans actress Bibiana Fernández plays her cisgender niece. It seems only now, with movies as A Fantastic Woman(2017) and Tangerine (2015) that trans artists seem to get some decent roles, but it's still pretty rare.
Fassbinder is one the greatest (if not the greatest) German directors of all time. He is one of the finest and bleakest observers of the human condition, often focusing on outsiders neglected by society. Much headed of its time when it comes to queer identity (Fox and his Friends (1974) and Querelle (1982)). A Year with 13 Moons is among the most beautifully devastating films in his prolific career. It tells the story of Elvira Weishaupt (Volker Spengler), once Erwin, who undergo a sex change for love.
Livingston's documentary is among the most critically important of the 90's. A brave and brutal commentary on the Black and Latino LGBT community of the time. Livingston's manage to capture perfectly the sense of community of this marginalised group, with intimate realism. It's a glorious, poignant, tragic achievement and a must see in Queer Cinema.
Jordan's film is an Oscar-winning thriller which explores themes of race, gender, sexuality on the backdrop of the nationalist conflicts in Northen Ireland. I apologise in advance for spoiling the "twist" which made this movie a huge success at the time (It's impossible to avoid it when you talk about it). Halfway through the film, we discover that Forest Whitaker's girlfriend is actually a trans woman played by Jaye Davidson. For today standard this film might look problematic since the use of transsexuality is merely for shock value. However, it's a compelling movie on acceptance and a timeless message: Love has no gender.
The film follows two drag queens (Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce) and a trans woman (Terence Stamp) as they cross the Australian Desert in a tour bus named "Priscilla". It's a remarkably camp and flamboyant road movie with excellent performances and fantastic costumes (Oscar winner for Costume Design). They are literally, and figurately, an injection of colour and life in an inhabitable and inhospitable desert.
With Talk to Her(2003) this is probably Almodovar's masterpiece. Winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, this unbelievable melodrama, it's a love letter to womanhood, with gorgeous cinematography, warm colours and an incredibly rich script. The movie follows a grieving mother who moves to Barcelona to look for the father the boy never knew, now a trans prostitute named Lola. All About My Mother is a plethora of strong female characters, where even men inspire to be women. Agrado's speech on what means to be "authentic" is one of the most iconic monologues in the history of cinema.
Among the most devastating LGBT movies of all time, Boy Don't Cry is a harrowing and disturbing movie based on a real-life hate crime. Hilary Swank gives an astonishing performance (Among the bests in history in my personal opinion) as she plays a trans man who adopts a male identity once he moves to Nebraska. He will fall in love with Lana, played by an extraordinary Chloë Sevigny (she deserved as much recognition as Hilary Swank). It's a brutal and gut-wrenching love story which also explores how the frustration in Midwestern America and the fragility of masculinity can escalate in unimaginable hatred and violence.
Desperate Housewives's Felicity Huffman gives her best performance, playing Bree a trans woman who undertakes a journey looking for her lost son. The movie is an absurd journey on the road, as well as, a journey of self-discovery. Huffman carries the movie, giving her character a great empathy and dignity.
It's an extraordinary film and probably the most ambitious accomplishment from the "enfant prodige" Xavier Dolan, which feels intimate and personal, but also surreal and breathtaking. Visually is stunning: the colours, the clothing, the level of details. It's a masterpiece. Laurence, a school teacher, tells his wife that he wants to become a woman. The movie follows this beautifully complicated love story over a decade. Two marvellous performances from Suzanne Clément and Melvil Poupaud.
A movie shot with an iPhone, set on Christmas Eve, following a duo of trans prostitutes in LA, might sound like a gimmick. Instead, Sean Baker's (Director of the splendid Florida Project, in my opinion, the best movie of 2017) direction is full of frenetic energy, humour and heart. It's a raw, kinetic and humanistic movie which feels fresh and unique. It shines.
Honourable mentions: Ma Vie En Rose (1997), Dallas Buyers Club (2013) A Soap (2006)
These lists are open to recommendations. If you have a film in mind that should be on the list please leave a comment and tell us what you think.
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1973) by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Todo Sobre Mi Madre (1999) by Pedro Almodovar
Le Fate Ignoranti (2001) by Farzan Özpetek
Laurence Anyways (2012) by Xavier Dolan
Niche List of the week
10 Fantastic film on transsexuality
I hope I wasn't the only one to be disappointed with A Fantastic Woman. If you were (or if you weren't), here you can find a list of 10 fantastic alternatives for you.
All these films celebrate being themselves against an antagonistic society. What A Fantastic Woman has that most of this film don't, it's a real transexual actress as the central character. 7 out of 10 of these movies don't have real transexuals in the cast. I am not going to argue about that. The actor job is to play something he/she is not. However, it becomes almost an "easy" way for cisgender actors to receive accolades and recognition. If you play a trans and you will definitely get an Oscar nomination (Example as A Crying Game, Boy's Don't Cry, Transamerica, The Danish Girl and most recent winner Jered Leto in Dallas Buyers Club). It seems to be a limited industry for transactors. Pedro Almodovar was really progressive in his casting already in the 80's: In Law and Desire (1987), Carmen Maura plays a trans woman, whereas trans actress Bibiana Fernández plays her cisgender niece. It seems only now, with movies as A Fantastic Woman(2017) and Tangerine (2015) that trans artists seem to get some decent roles, but it's still pretty rare.
- In a Year of 13 Moons (1978) by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Fassbinder is one the greatest (if not the greatest) German directors of all time. He is one of the finest and bleakest observers of the human condition, often focusing on outsiders neglected by society. Much headed of its time when it comes to queer identity (Fox and his Friends (1974) and Querelle (1982)). A Year with 13 Moons is among the most beautifully devastating films in his prolific career. It tells the story of Elvira Weishaupt (Volker Spengler), once Erwin, who undergo a sex change for love.
- Paris is Burning (1990) by Jennie Livingston
Livingston's documentary is among the most critically important of the 90's. A brave and brutal commentary on the Black and Latino LGBT community of the time. Livingston's manage to capture perfectly the sense of community of this marginalised group, with intimate realism. It's a glorious, poignant, tragic achievement and a must see in Queer Cinema.
- The Crying Game (1992) by Neil Jordan
Jordan's film is an Oscar-winning thriller which explores themes of race, gender, sexuality on the backdrop of the nationalist conflicts in Northen Ireland. I apologise in advance for spoiling the "twist" which made this movie a huge success at the time (It's impossible to avoid it when you talk about it). Halfway through the film, we discover that Forest Whitaker's girlfriend is actually a trans woman played by Jaye Davidson. For today standard this film might look problematic since the use of transsexuality is merely for shock value. However, it's a compelling movie on acceptance and a timeless message: Love has no gender.
- The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert (1994) by Stephan Elliott
The film follows two drag queens (Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce) and a trans woman (Terence Stamp) as they cross the Australian Desert in a tour bus named "Priscilla". It's a remarkably camp and flamboyant road movie with excellent performances and fantastic costumes (Oscar winner for Costume Design). They are literally, and figurately, an injection of colour and life in an inhabitable and inhospitable desert.
- Todo Sobre Mi Madre (1999) by Pedro Almodovar
With Talk to Her(2003) this is probably Almodovar's masterpiece. Winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, this unbelievable melodrama, it's a love letter to womanhood, with gorgeous cinematography, warm colours and an incredibly rich script. The movie follows a grieving mother who moves to Barcelona to look for the father the boy never knew, now a trans prostitute named Lola. All About My Mother is a plethora of strong female characters, where even men inspire to be women. Agrado's speech on what means to be "authentic" is one of the most iconic monologues in the history of cinema.
- Boy Don't Cry (1999) by Kimberly Peirce
- Transamerica (2005) by Duncan Tucker
Desperate Housewives's Felicity Huffman gives her best performance, playing Bree a trans woman who undertakes a journey looking for her lost son. The movie is an absurd journey on the road, as well as, a journey of self-discovery. Huffman carries the movie, giving her character a great empathy and dignity.
- Tomboy (2011) by Céline Sciama
Céline Sciamma directs a sensitive and sweet coming of age movie, about a boyish 10-years-old girl who, after moving to a new area with her family, introduces herself as a boy to the neighboorhood. The film admirably explores gender identities in childhood, without preaching or sensationalising, but with a naturalistic and voyeuristic approach. The cast of young non-professional actors shines on screen.
- Laurence Anyways (2012) by Xavier Dolan
It's an extraordinary film and probably the most ambitious accomplishment from the "enfant prodige" Xavier Dolan, which feels intimate and personal, but also surreal and breathtaking. Visually is stunning: the colours, the clothing, the level of details. It's a masterpiece. Laurence, a school teacher, tells his wife that he wants to become a woman. The movie follows this beautifully complicated love story over a decade. Two marvellous performances from Suzanne Clément and Melvil Poupaud.
- Tangerine (2015) by Sean Baker
A movie shot with an iPhone, set on Christmas Eve, following a duo of trans prostitutes in LA, might sound like a gimmick. Instead, Sean Baker's (Director of the splendid Florida Project, in my opinion, the best movie of 2017) direction is full of frenetic energy, humour and heart. It's a raw, kinetic and humanistic movie which feels fresh and unique. It shines. 
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